Search

Pontastacus leptodactylus is a native European crayfish species found in both freshwater and brackish environments. It has commercial importance for fisheries and aquaculture industries. Up till now, most studies concerning P. leptodactylus have focused onto gaining knowledge about its phylogeny and population genetics. However, little is known about the chromosomal evolution and genome organization of this species. Therefore, we performed clustering analysis of a low coverage genomic dataset to identify and characterize repetitive DNA in the P. leptodactylus genome. In addition, the karyogram of P. leptodactylus (2n = 180) is presented here for the first time consisting of 75 metacentric, 14 submetacentric, and a submetacentric/metacentric heteromorphic chromosome pair. We determined the genome size to be at ~18.7 gigabase pairs. Repetitive DNA represents about 54.85% of the genome. Satellite DNA repeats are the most abundant type of repetitive DNA, making up to ~28% of the total amount of repetitive elements, followed by the Ty3/Gypsy retroelements (~15%). Our study established a surprisingly high diversity of satellite repeats in P. leptodactylus. The genome of P. leptodactylus is by far the most satellite-rich genome discovered to date with 258 satellite families described. Of the five mapped satellite DNA families on chromosomes, PlSAT3-411 co-localizes with the AT-rich DAPI positive probable (peri)centromeric heterochromatin on all chromosomes, while PlSAT14-79 co-localizes with the AT-rich DAPI positive (peri)centromeric heterochromatin on one chromosome and is also located subterminally and intercalary on some chromosomes. PlSAT1-21 is located intercalary in the vicinity of the (peri)centromeric heterochromatin on some chromosomes, while PlSAT6-70 and PlSAT7-134 are located intercalary on some P. leptodactylus chromosomes. The FISH results reveal amplification of interstitial telomeric repeats (ITRs) in P. leptodactylus. The prevalence of repetitive elements

Native European crayfish conservation was triggered by invasion of crayfish plague disease agent, Aphanomyces astaci, starting 1860s in Northern Italy. Resulting crayfish plague epidemics quickly spread over Continental Europe, then to Finland, Sweden and finally, after running amok around Europe, A. astaci was discovered also in Iberian Peninsula, Norway, Ireland, and United Kingdom in 1970s and 1980s. By that time significant proportion of native crayfish stocks had been lost, and while crayfish plague epidemics were still recorded, also industrialization and waterways construction were causing damage to remaining native crayfish stocks. While alien crayfish introductions, at least Faxonius limosus, already gave rise to first wave of crayfish plague epidemics in late 19th century, later in 1960s it was decided that introductions of alien Pacifastacus leniusculus should be initiated to replace native European crayfish populations. Decisions were based on presumed advantages for fishery, suitable habitat requirements and supposed immunity against A. astaci. Furthermore, conservation of native European crayfish species was sidelined and focus shifted toward alien crayfish stocking routine and consumption. Alien crayfish species introductions resulted in repeated waves of crayfish plague epidemics among remaining native crayfish stocks. It was soon discovered that alien crayfish of North American origin were, as suspected, permanent reservoirs for A. astaci, that some of those alien species were losing their resistance against selected strains of A. astaci and struggled in European aquatic ecosystems. In this article, we introduce numerous motives behind grand mistake of introducing alien crayfish species to Europe and then promoting their stocks instead of focusing on conservation of native crayfish species. We outline how false economical, biological and ecologic assumptions were used to justify a hasty introduction of alien crayfish, which has further devastated na

The noble crayfish is a native European freshwater species, endangered due to the strong anthropogenic influence on its habitats, climate change, and invasive crayfish species. In the present study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of nationally designated protected areas and the pan-European Natura 2000 network in representing and maintaining over time the noble crayfish diversity using a comprehensive species occurrence dataset. Overall, our gap analysis indicated moderate efficiency of the existing protected areas in covering the noble crayfish diversity. Overlapping the distribution map of the noble crayfish with the map of protected areas revealed that protected areas encompass 50% of recorded populations. This study can serve as an evaluation of the protected areas in conservation of this key freshwater crayfish species.

Do danas je u svijetu opisano oko 600 vrsta slatkovodnih (Decapodnih) rakova iz podreda Astacidae. Na području Evrope danas živi pet vrsta autohtonih slatkovodnih rakova iz porodice Astacidae: Astacus astacus, Astacus leptidactilus, Astacus pachypus, Austropotamobius pallipes, i Austropotamobius torrentium. Pored autohtonih, danas žive i alohtone vrste. Najčešće su to američke vrste Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1852) takođe iz porodice Astacidae. Sve tri vrste (A. astacus, A. pallipes i A. torrentium) zaštićene su i na nivou Evrope: uvrštene su na IUCN ovu crvenu listu ugroženih vrsta (IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature) takođe su uvrštene i u Apendiks br. III Bernske konvencije po kojem je njihovo iskorišćavanje pod strogom kontrolom i nadzorom svake države (Taylor, 2002), a vrste A. torrentium, i A. pallipes su i u Direktivi o staništima Evropske unije. Cilj ove doktorske disertacije bio je analizirati populacije različitih vrsta slatkovodnih (Decapodnih) rakova sa prostora Crne Gore kako bi se dobili podaci o njihovoj distribuciji, ekologiji, kao i da se odrede filogenetski i evolucijski odnosi jedinki vrsta A. torrentium, A. pallipes i A. astacus uzorkovanih sa prostora Hrvatske, Srbije i Crne Gore kao i njihova procjena rizika izumiranja i prioriteti konzervacije biodiverziteta akvatičnih ekosistema., Up to date, about 600 species of freshwater (Decapods) crayfish from Astacida suborders was described in the world. Today, five species of freshwater crayfish from the family Astacidae (Astacus astacus, Astacus leptidactilus, Astacus pachypus, Austropotamobius pallipes and Austropotamobius torrentium) lives in Europe. Besides to autochthonous, now there are allochthonous species living there. They are mainly American species Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1852) also from the family Astacidae. All three species (A. astacus, A. pallipes and A. torrentium) are protected at European level: listed on IUCN Red List of threatened species (IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature) and they are also having been included in Appendix no. III of the Bern Convention by which their exploitation is under strict control and supervision of each state (Taylor, 2002), and type A. torrentium, and A. pallipes are in the Habitats Directive of the European Union. The goal of this dissertation was to analyze the populations of different species of freshwater (Decapods) crayfish from Montenegro in order to obtain information on their distribution, ecology, and to determine the phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships between individuals of species A. torrentium, A. pallipes and A. astacus sampled from Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro as well as their assessment of extinction risk and conservation priorities for biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. The analysis included physically-chemical parameters of waters where was registered the presence of freshwater (Decapods) crayfish. For each caught crayfish 23 morphometric feature were measured and described by standard descriptive statistics (medium value, min-max value, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation). Same morphometric characteristics have been measured for the species A.astacus from the lake Buser-Serbia and they have also been described by the standard descriptive statistics. The data were then normalized on t